Implementing and Managing Change within the Organization - Literature review Example

Name : xxxxxxxxxxx Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : Implementing Strategy and Managing Change Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx @2011 Introduction Organizational change is an aspect that is inevitable in any type of organization. This is essentially because, in order for an organization to grow; it has to undergo significant changes at various stages of its development. In addition the internal and external operational environments keep on changing. As a result the management should always be ready to devise strategies of delivering, implementing and managing change within the organization. The Process of delivering change within organizations There are a variety of proposals of models of undertaking the process of delivering change within an organization. One of significant models of delivering change within an organization is the ‘force field’ model proposed in 1951 by Kurt Lewin. Lewin’s models entail three basic stages which include; unfreeze – Change – Refreeze. In his analogy, Lewin associates the process of delivering organizational change to that of altering the shape of a block ice, whereby one has to start with melting the ice in order to make it open to change (Unfreeze).The next step is to mould the iced water to form the shape one desires(change). And lastly is to solidify the newly attained shape (refreeze) (Harigopal, 2006). The Unfreeze Stage In the organizational context, the unfreezing level entails preparing the organization to acknowledge that change is necessary or essential. This entails breaking down the status quo that exists before trying to devise a new approach of operation. The key strategy here is to create a compelling message explaining the reasons why the existing manner of doing things can no longer continue. It also entails creation of discomfort or guilt in order to motivate change and also developing a form of psychological safety which will reduce the various barriers to change and the threats posed by past failures. Some of the reasons that can be created include stakeholder dissatisfaction, poor performance or poor financial outcomes. Such issues give an indication that it is vital for things to change (Balogun& Hailey, 2004). In order to successfully prepare the organization for change, a manager needs to change the stakeholders attitudes, values, beliefs and behaviors of the stakeholders, thus it is essential to make them aware of the initial stage of the process of change. This assists in creating balance or an equilibrium in everything (Balogun& Hailey, 2004). Change The change level entails resolving uncertainty whereby people begin to evaluate new ways of doing things .The people also develop a sense of belief that they can act in a manner that can support the new change. Harigopal, (2006) highlights that the shift from the unfreeze stage to the change stage does not occur easily. People have to take time to adapt to the new guidelines and proactively participate in order to facilitate change. Lewin highlight s that communication and time are two vital aspects that can assist in facilitating successful change. Refreeze The refreeze level entails helping people to institutionalize and internalize the changes developed. This implies that the manager has to make sure that changes are utilized at all times and incorporated in daily operations. By developing a new sense of stability, the organizations stakeholder will have a feeling of confidence in the new strategy of working. Various strategies can be used which include reinforcing the change process, reward and regulation schemes and maximizing the required behaviors (Balogun& Hailey, 2004). Literature Review on the process of managing strategic change. According to Harigopal, (2006) strategic change management involves development of a long term change management process, which will assist the organization in attain its objectives. Harigopal, (2006) further highlights that the process of managing strategic change is a highly complicated process as a result there is no particular fixed criteria to be followed. In the past management experts proposed Lewin’s model to be integrated in strategic change management process. However with increased globalization in contemporary society the process of managing strategic change is linked to the concept of organizational culture. Stanleigh (2007) brings to light the fact that process of strategic change involves seven stages and also incorporates the aspect of organizational culture in a variety of stages. The first stage of the strategic change management process entails change awareness which entails selection of a steering committee for change management. The role of the committees is not to make decisions but rather to oversee the whole process in order to ensure that it’s on track. The second stage involves the identification of change readiness and organizational culture. Stanleigh (2007) highlights that an organizational culture which entails the common attitude, value and believes of employees, influence whether will resist change or accept to adopt change. The second stage therefore entails carrying out a survey of the employee in order to evaluate their readiness for change. Stanleigh (2007) states that; cultural awareness is now a rather significant aspect in the process of managing strategic change. The process of managing strategic change also entails development of a change vision (Harigopal 2006).The success of any particular strategic change plan is associated to the ability of the stakeholders of the organization to change. The steering committee should therefore develop a vision of how the future will look like if the change was successfully implemented. Example of Best practice and implementation of strategic change management The U.K fire and Rescue services have been striving to make initiatives of Strategic change management, based on the legislation that Fire rescue organizations should expand their services to dealing with emergencies that are not based on fire. North Wales Fire and Rescue Services strategic change management plan can be termed as workable in terms of meeting the new regulation. This is essentially because the plan entails an in-depth review of organizational culture. Organizational culture is an essential aspect in the evalation of the readiness of the employees to accept and practice the new changes. Basing on the fact that the North Wales Fire and Rescue Company has had a corporate culture whereby the workforce is given enough resources to execute their duties, and enough training is provided to them the possibility of the employees undertaking non-fire rescue activities effectively very high. In addition, North Wales Fire and Rescue Company also has a culture of open communication between the management and the staff. As a result employees who are resistant to change will be easily identified after open communication. After identifying the dissatisfactions of the resisters, strategies to assist them overcome and manage their dissatisfaction will devised. Risk analysis is another essential aspect in change management in the organization (Department for Communities and Local Government 2008).It is vital to analyze the factors that might prevent attaining the desired changes. In the context of North Wales Fire and Rescue Company, some of the risks that may affect the implementation of change include employee resistance and the poor response to emergencies that are not fire related. However through the vision developed by the change committee, which puts emphasis on saving society from danger essentially the vulnerable such as children and the elderly, the employee’s perception of the rescue operations would in time be transformed. Another essential aspect in the plan of implementation of strategic change management is motivation of the workforce (Harigopal 2006) .Getting involved in non fire rescue operations implies that the workload of the employee will definitely be increased as a result if employees do not receive effective motivation they would be reluctant in responding to duties that are not part of their original job description. Thus in order to effectively undertake implementation of strategic change management, the organization intends to motivate employees through increasing their remuneration. Methods of monitoring impacts upon the implementation of change management over a pre-determined time scale for an Integrated Risk Management Plan. One of the methods of monitoring impacts upon implementation of change management over a pre-determined time for an IRMP is through undertaking external assessment by inviting an Audit commission to analyze the progress of the IRMP. Undertaking an external audit can provide a comprehensive evaluation of the change as opposed to using internal audit only in evaluating the progress of a plan. The external audit will evaluate areas such as community management for instance in the context of North Wales Fire and Rescue Company, is the organization effectively following the proposed law to enhance community safety. Another essential aspect is response, incident support and call management, health and safety, prevention and protection (Stanleigh 2007). Performance management is another important strategy of monitoring the impacts of the implemented change. In order to deliver the desired changes fire and rescue authorities should put in place performance management as a monitoring strategy. The process involves measuring performance against the stated standards as a result key indicators of performance should be outlined in order to act as basis of evaluation. Some of the indicators of measuring performance in the context of the new regulation that Fire and Rescue services should also be involved in non - fire rescue operations include, measurement of the speed of response and number of incidents solved that are not fire related (Department for Communities and Local Government,2008). Based on the guidelines of the IRMP an organization should undertake continuous improvement and review of the proposed change in order to ensure that employees continue to meet expectations of the stated change as required. Stanleigh (2007) highlights that in case of any reviews or improvements made it is important to inform the employees on time. Conclusion . From the analysis above concerning the aspect of implementation strategy and managing change a variety of issues have been raised. One of them is that the process of delivering change in organizations has progressively being transformed with the integration of the aspect of the organizational culture on the changes process. However models such as the Lewin’s model of change, is still applicable in contemporary organizations. In addition risk management also forms an essential aspect in the process of strategic change. In summary it is essential for an organization to adopt effective strategies of managing change due to the fact that change is inevitable in management. References Balogun, J and Hailey.J, 2004. ‘Exploring Strategic change’. London, Prentice Hall.   Department for Communities and Local Government,2008, IRPM Steering Group Integrated Risk Management Planning: Policy Guidance, London; Communities AND Local governments publications. Harigopal, K, 2006, Managing organisational change, New Delhi. Stanleigh, M, 2007, From crisis to control: The strategic change management process, Business Improvements Architects. Retrived Read More